Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
October 2000
Around 185 B.C., Pushyamitra Shunga, the principal military officer of the last Mauryan king, assassinated his ruler and assumed control. Because the Shungas were the successors to the Mauryans, the period following Mauryan rule is often called the Shunga period. However, except at the beginning, Shunga was not as extensive as the earlier realm but coexisted with other polities throughout the subcontinent. The period saw a flowering of the visual arts, including small terracotta images, larger stone sculptures, and architectural monuments such as the chaitya hall at Bhaja, the stupa at Bharhut, and the renowned Great Stupa at Sanchi. Under Shunga patronage, the core of the Great Stupa, thought to date from the era of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (r. ca. 273–232 B.C.), was enlarged to its present diameter of 120 feet, covered with a stone casing, topped with a balcony and umbrella, and encircled with a stone railing. Four famous gateways, each about 35 feet high, were carved during the first half of the first century A.D. Decorated with images of auspicious fertility spirits, known as yakshas and yakshis, the gateways also feature narratives depicting moments from the past lives and final existence of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. Motifs such as wheels, thrones, and footprints are used to symbolize the Buddha, who is not represented in human form until later…
Citation
Department of Asian Art. “Shunga Dynasty (ca. Second–First Century B.C.).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/shun/hd_shun.htm (October 2000)
Further Reading
Milleker, Elizabeth J., ed. The Year One: Art of the Ancient World East and West. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. See on MetPublications
Additional Essays by Department of Asian Art
- Department of Asian Art. “Mauryan Empire (ca. 323–185 B.C.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Asian Art. “Zen Buddhism.” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Chinese Cloisonné.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Chinese Gardens and Collectors’ Rocks.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Landscape Painting in Chinese Art.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Nature in Chinese Culture.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–220 A.D.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Asian Art. “Kushan Empire (ca. Second Century B.C.–Third Century A.D.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Asian Art. “Qin Dynasty (221–206 B.C.).” (October 2000)
- Department of Asian Art. “Rinpa Painting Style.” (October 2003)
- Department of Asian Art. “Jōmon Culture (ca. 10,500–ca. 300 B.C.).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “The Kano School of Painting.” (October 2003)
- Department of Asian Art. “Woodblock Prints in the Ukiyo-e Style.” (October 2003)
- Department of Asian Art. “Traditional Chinese Painting in the Twentieth Century.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127).” (October 2001)
- Department of Asian Art. “Period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386–581).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279).” (October 2001)
- Department of Asian Art. “Tang Dynasty (618–907).” (October 2001)
- Department of Asian Art. “Yayoi Culture (ca. 300 B.C.–300 A.D.).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).” (October 2001)
- Department of Asian Art. “Art of the Pleasure Quarters and the Ukiyo-e Style.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Scholar-Officials of China.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Kofun Period (ca. 300–710).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Lacquerware of East Asia.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Painting Formats in East Asian Art.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Asuka and Nara Periods (538–794).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Heian Period (794–1185).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Kamakura and Nanbokucho Periods (1185–1392).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Momoyama Period (1573–1615).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Muromachi Period (1392–1573).” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Samurai.” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Shinto.” (October 2002)
- Department of Asian Art. “Art of the Edo Period (1615–1868).” (October 2003)
- Department of Asian Art. “Neolithic Period in China.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Seasonal Imagery in Japanese Art.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Shang and Zhou Dynasties: The Bronze Age of China.” (October 2004)
- Department of Asian Art. “Shōguns and Art.” (October 2004)